Max Rivlin-Nadler

Almost two dozen women have come forward with complaints about being forced to strip naked in a Washington police station after being arrested for DUI, and then videotaped by police officers.

The women were brought to a holding cell in Puyallup, Washington, where they were told to strip naked before being given jail clothes. Unbeknownst to them, their jailers were watching them strip through a video camera.

“We’ve got dozens of other people calling who had similar experiences in Puyallup. We’re sorting through them right now,” Seattle Attorney James Egan told King 5 News.

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The women were mostly arrested for suspected DUI before they were brought to the jailhouse. “I was told I needed to take off all my garments and change into the uniform,” a woman who was jailed reported. When she refused to undress in front of male officers, the woman says she was held an additional twelve hours.

The City of Puyallup has defended the practice and says that such filming practices are standard in jails, but law enforcement experts disagree that it's common for an inmate to be videotaped while undressing.

“They’re telling us they didn’t know they were being videotaped. They didn’t consent to being on camera. They feel violated by finding out this information,” a lawyer for one of the women said.